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Planes of Torar
The world of Torar exists as only a small part of a much, much bigger multiverse. While brief discussion is normally more than enough for any new friend one might meet in a tavern, the compiled lore of the greatest planar scholars of Sendrellar and the Jade Tower delves much more deeply into each plane's unique properties.Each plane has its own properties, which have been rated on either a scale (0 to 20) or an axis (-10 to +10). The planes have been studied and codified using these measures by sages and scholars for millenia who have attempted to enact spells to affect, investigate, and alter these properties. For our purposes, the Prime Material Plane has all scales at 10 (with the exception of Size, which has a scale of 14) and all axes at 0. Most scholars use the universally-accesible Astral Plane as the baseline, not the backwater of the Material. The traits that each plane has are divided into several types: Physical Traits: Gravity, Time, Size, Morphic. Environmental Traits: Life, Weather. Elemental and Energy Traits: Water/Fire, Earth/Air, Holy/Unholy. Alignment Traits: Good/Evil, Law/Chaos. Magic Traits: Arcane Intensity, Divine Intensity, Green Intensity. Relation Traits: Proximity, Accessibility. Each trait has a numeric rating. These ratings are on a curve, not a flat scale - the farther along the scale you go, the bigger the effects of a change from one rating to the next. At certain levels along this scale, different phenomena occur on the plane. For example, if a plane's alignment to Good is high enough, Good characters gain bonuses and Evil characters are penalized. Some traits have quirks; for example, gravity might pull in a different direction or the benefits of good alignment may only work on certain types of creatures. These quirks also have a numeric value, for use with Knowledge (the planes). Physical Traits These are the fundamental traits of the plane used to determine its essential nature and place in the universe. Altering the physical traits is extremely difficult, especially as one of the physical traits is the very trait that determines how much the plane can be altered. The physical traits of most planes are very well known and carefully recorded. Gravity This is the force that holds a traveller's feet to the ground and drags a drowning man to his death; it makes big things heavy and small things light. On most planes, gravity is directed down towards the ground, but there are exceptions. 'Gravity Trait Effects' 'Gravity Quirks' Time The time flow of most planes is constant, although some are somewhat faster or slower. One planes influenced be Faerie or Chaos, time can run out of joint. 'Time Trait Effects' 'Time Quirks' Size The physical size of planes varies widely. Some are no larger than a house and, indeed, if extradimensional spaces are counted as planes, then a plane might be no larger than a gnome's pocket. The size of the plane is extremely important when attempting to affect it with magic; the Size trait is squared and then added to the difficulty of any ritual to affect it. A planar layer is a section of the plane that can have its own individual traits, like a demi-plane, but can be accessed just by mundane travel. 'Handling Infinity' Infinity would be relatively easy to handle - it is almost the same as really, really, really big and it is of no consequence to the players whether they are fighting a hundred billion demons or an infinite number of them - if it were not for abilities like greater teleport. This allows an arbitrarily large number of entities to act without regard for distance or, to put it another way, it allows the infinitely large number of demons to attack the characters without spending an infinite amount of time travelling the infinite distance to get to them. For the sake of sanity, infinities should be arranged in such a way that they cancel each other out. An infinite number of demons can be balanced by an infinite number of angels, leaving the characters as the deciding factor. Infinities should also be restricted to the ineffable; leave infinities for the gods to handle where possible. Infinities are supposed to be more spiritual truths than logical impossibilities. 'Size Trait Effects' 'Size Quirks' Morphic The morphic trait measures how alterable the plane is. Those planes with a high morphic trait can be altered by the will of the gods or powerful spells. Extremely morphic planes descend into chaos, as even idle thoughts can reshape the geography in an instant. 'Controlling a Highly Morphic Plane' If a plane’s Morphic trait is 17 or higher, it may respond to the will of a traveller. A character must make a Wisdom check (DC 16) to establish control or maintain control. Travellers who have already established control in the past get a +6 bonus to this check. A traveller’s zone of control extends for a number of feet equal to his Charisma score. Within the zone of control, the traveller can shape the raw stuff of the plane as if moulding clay, creating air, stone, metal or whatever else is desired. The appropriate Craft skills are needed to produce an item or building; however, a character can shape the contents of one five-foot cube each round. Objects created by warping chaos melt away if they move out of the traveller’s zone of control, if the traveller falls asleep, or if taken off the plane. A traveller may make a Wisdom check (DC 20 and the +6 bonus applies) to keep one five-foot by five-foot square from melting while he sleeps. If two travellers try to mould the same area simultaneously, they should make opposed Wisdom checks to see who wins. 'Morphic Trait Effects' 'Morphic Quirks' Environmental Traits The environmental traits of a plane determine what sort of life exists there. Life in a magical universe is endlessly adaptable – creatures can be made of living fire, crawl across the hydrogen ice that accumulates around collapsed stars or endure living in the wrathful eye of a god. Therefore, the Life trait determines how much native life thrives there. Invasion by travellers or events on the plane can, of course, alter how much life is found on the plane. The Weather trait measures the usual intensity of the natural weather patterns and is usually only meaningful on planes with a Size trait of 11 or less. Larger planes have much more complex weather patterns; the Weather trait can therefore only be used as a guideline in such places. Life The higher the Life trait, the stronger the native creatures are and the more of them there are. High-Life planes explode with verdant plant life and are crowded with animals. Low-Life planes are empty wastelands or nightmarish, inhospitable strongholds of death. 'Life Trait Effects' 'Life Quirks' Weather The Weather trait determines the intensity and frequency of unusual or dangerous weather. 'Weather Trait Effects' 'Weather Quirks' Elemental Traits The primal forces of the Elemental and Energy planes influence all the planes of existence. All fire comes in some small fraction from the eternal flames; all unholy energy is the shadow of the Shadow. Some planes are more closely aligned to one of the Elemental Planes, reinforcing the connection between instances of that element and its primal source. In large planes (Size 10+), the alignment between the plane and the elemental plane can be a local one, creating unnatural microclimates. An alignment with the Plane of Air might spawn a glacier or windwhipped frozen region in the midst of warm plains; an alignment with Earth might create towering mountains, while an alignment with Fire results in deserts and dry lands surrounded by plenty. Aligning with one element causes an equal disconnection with the opposing element. The oppositions are as follows: Fire opposes Water – Water opposes Fire. Earth opposes Air – Air opposes Earth. Holy opposes Unholy – Unholy opposes Holy. A plane can be aspected (a lesser connection) or dominated (a greater connection) to a particular element or energy. The influence of the element on its aspected plane is quite subtle, and is generally only of interest to magicians and creatures of that element. The effects on a dominated plane, on the other hand, are quite obvious to all. For all the elements and energies, the following rules apply: Aspected: All spells with the appropriate elemental or energy descriptor count as being cast by a character one level higher if, for example, a fireball cast by a 5th level character deals 6d6 points of damage. Creatures with the appropriate type gain one extra hit point per Hit Die. Creatures with the opposing elemental type lose one hit point per Hit Die while in the aspected plane. Opposing spells are unaffected. Dominated: All spells with the appropriate elemental or energy descriptor are Empowered as per the Metamagic feat and have their effective level increased by two for the purposes of saving throws and other level-dependent features. Creatures with the appropriate type gain two extra hit points per Hit Die. Creatures with the opposing elemental type lose two hit points per Hit Die while in the aspected plane. Opposing spells require a spell slot one level higher than normal – an ordinary fireball needs a fourth level spell slot on a water-dominated plane. Note that all creatures with the Undead type count as being aligned with Unholy energy. Native Elementals Obviously, the Elemental Planes are dominated by the appropriate element. This makes elementals considerably more dangerous on their home planes – not only as they have more hit points per Hit Die, but the opposing spells that are especially effective against them take higher-level spell slots. Water/Fire Axis The most physically dramatic of the elemental axes, the Water/Fire axis is a major determinant in what sort of life exists on the plane. Too much Water and only aquatic creatures can thrive there. An excess of fire means that only elementals, energy beings, and creatures with tough, flame-retardant hides can dwell on the plane. 'Water/Fire Axis Effects' 'Water/Fire Quirks' Earth/Air Axis The Earth/Air axis has relatively little impact on a plane except at the extremes. Unlike the Water/Fire axis, a plane can be aligned to Air or Earth and still greatly resemble the common Material Plane. 'Earth/Air Axis Effects' 'Earth/Air Quirks' Unholy/Holy Axis Planes biased towards any kind of energy are rare. At the lower levels of intensity, Holy bias helps the denizens of a plane greatly and such places are bastions of life and strength. Highly Holy planes are much more dangerous, as the frames of most creatures are simply too fragile to handle that much life energy and creatures can be consumed by the exultant energies of their own spirits. Unholy biased planes are dangerous, even at the lowest levels of intensity. Living creatures of all kinds have their life force sapped by these planes, while the undead thrive. Highly Unholy planes are more inhospitable than the heart of the Fire Plane. 'Unholy/Holy Axis Effects' Alignment Traits Good and evil, law and chaos are more than philosophical statements; they are forces in reality just as fundamental as gravity and time. These traits cross at neutrality. Just like the elemental and energy axes, a plane can be mildly aligned to a particular alignment or strongly aligned to it. Neutrally-dominated planes are rare and often represent a conscious effort on the part of their inhabitants to devote themselves to balance above all else. Any mildly neutral world with a Good/Evil or Law/Chaos trait of 10 can be made strongly neutral. Mildly Aligned: Creatures who have an alignment opposite that of a mildly aligned plane take a –2 penalty on all Charisma-based checks. Strongly Aligned: 'On planes that are strongly aligned, a –2 penalty applies on all Charisma-based checks made by all creatures not of the plane’s alignment. In addition, the –2 penalty also affects all Intelligence-based and Wisdom-based checks. The penalties for the moral (Good/Evil) and ethical (Law/Chaos) components of the alignment trait do stack. Good/Evil Axis The clash between good and evil dominates the politics and wars of the planes. Between these two forces there can be no compromise, no negotiated peace; at best, there is a watchful balance and a continual smouldering hostility. When war breaks out, the hosts of hell swarm up to lay siege to the gates of heaven and dozens of planes are deluged in the blood of angels and demons. One day, there will be a great and final war and in that apocalypse one side or the other will prove the stronger. All the wars on all the worlds are just overtures to that eschatological conflict. 'Good/Evil Axis Effects Law/Chaos Axis The great conflict between law and chaos, between order and entropy, is older by far than the clash between good and evil. Before anything could reason, before morality could be conceived of, the crystalline structures of law and the bubbling metamorphoses of chaos were sliding through the universe, shaping and unshaping all that existed. Law seeks to bring structure to all that exists, to lock all creation into a single grand design that would open the gates to infinitely higher and larger lattices of order. Chaos desires the precise opposite – to collapse all that is into random sparks and fluctuations of energy and matter, to transform the universe into a vast incomprehensible potentiality. It is perhaps a paradox then that even the lords of law and chaos must contain a tiny sliver of the nature of the other. Pure law cannot exist while chaos exists, while pure chaos lacks any direction. This forced symbiosis is sometimes all that keeps the worlds from being frozen in order or sliding into chaos. 'Law/Chaos Axis Effects' Magical Traits Magic varies wildly across the planes. Arcane energy surges through the weave of worlds, to have its threads plucked and rewoven by mages or channelled by sorcerers. The presence or attention of a deity can greatly enhance the prayers of clerics, while the strength of the ‘green shadow’ of druids on a plane gives its followers power. 'Metamagic and the Magical Trait' At higher levels of magical intensity, the plane offers a number of ‘free’ metamagic levels to casters of a particular type of magic. For example, on a plane with +3 metamagic, a character can use three levels of metamagic feats each round, even if he possesses no such feats. He could make a spell Silent, Still, and Enlarged (one level each, for a total of three levels of metamagic) or Empowered and Extended (two levels and one level). The character does not have to possess these feats in order to use the free levels. Some planes have more specific effects; all divine spells might be specifically made Silent in the Monastery of the Silent Monks. Arcane Of all the forms of magic, it is arcane magic that varies the most. The power of magic flows like quicksilver through the planes, pooling in certain areas and draining away from others. Places of magical strength are rarely peaceful; if a plane enhances magical power, it is quickly claimed by dozens of warring mages and sorcerers. If one arcanist is victorious, he takes the plane as his own personal domain, but more often, the plane is reduced to a smoking ruin after decades of vicious magical battles. Bardic magic is also affected by this trait, as is (to a lesser extent) creativity and art in general. Magic is an art form, after all. 'Arcane Trait Effects' 'Arcane Quirks' Divine Some worlds are like panes of clear glass, through which the bright light of the divine can pass with perfect and undiminished beauty. Planes that are close to the inhabitation of a particular god are bathed more intensely in that god’s power. Other realms are choked with doubt and confusion and clerics are cut off from the greater blessings of their deities. Most Material Planes are equally transparent to all gods and no deity can give unusual powers to their followers. Few of the other planes are as perfectly balanced. The Divine trait affects the spells of clerics and paladins. 'Divine Trait Effects' 'Divine Quirks' Green Every living thing casts the Green shadow. Invisible bright tendrils of life extend like roots through the world, forming shapes and totems of power. The druids draw on these totems, honouring them and making sacrifices to them to shape their magic. In some worlds, the Green shadow is bright, full of vitality and strength. In other worlds, there is not enough life to form a strong shadow and the Green is wan, as bitter and hungry as winter. The Green trait affects the spells of druids. 'Green Trait Effects' Relation Traits The Relation traits for a plane are special. While a plane has only one rating for each of the other traits, it has a Relation trait rating for every other plane. In reality, the vast majority of planes have the same Relation trait ratings – Proximity 0 (Separate) and Accessible Through Magic. Proximity The Proximity trait measures how close two planes are to each other. This relationship is not purely spatial; currents in a transitive plane or a massive astral conduit can connect planes. The Proximity trait begins at Separate – the two planes are not connected at all. As the trait rises in intensity, the planes grow closer together until they merge. 'Proximity Trait Effects' 'Proximity Quirks' Accessibility The Accessibility trait measures how easy it is to transit to the plane. Highly accessible planes can be visited just by casting plane shift or even just by walking there. Other planes require travellers to use keys or more potent spells. 'Accessibility Trait Effects' 'Accessibility Quirks' Portals Those without recourse to their own spells or innate abilities travel the planes by means of portals, magical passages and back doors that criss-cross reality. Some portals are natural, but the majority were created in ages past. A portal can take any form, but most are in the shapes of doors, teleportation circles, gateways or other symbols of egress. Some portals are doors, leading only to an adjacent plane. Others are gateways, leading to more distant realms. The larger and more useful a portal, the better known it is. Whole cities have grown up around major portals, in the same way a mundane metropolis grows around a ford or harbour. These cities, called gatetowns, are the heart of commerce on the planes. Their portals are always kept in huge fortified barbicans, filled with traps and magical defences. Should an enemy take the far side of the portal, invaders could swarm into the heart of the gate-town unless stopped by the barbican. Some portals have been sealed inside activated barbicans for centuries, waiting for someone to navigate the death traps and passageways and shut down the defenses. Appearance of a Portal A portal can look like almost anything. Most are doors or frames that the traveller walks through, but others are shadows cast by statues, where one walks into the shadow to pass through the portal; others are gems to be touched, boats that cross a misty lake, wells to climb into, symbols scratched into a wall or road, or chambers with only one door but two exits. Most portals only allow a single traveller to pass at any one time, but portals large enough to transport whole armies or fleets do exist. Finding a Portal Most established portals are obvious – it is hard to mistake a jade arch encrusted with runes of travel or a glowing yellow doorway for anything other than a portal. The more cosmopolitan extraplanar cities have signposts indicating the location of the nearest portal, as well as the portal’s destination and how to activate it. However, locating an inactive, hidden or obscure portal is more challenging. Detect magic, arcane sight, and true seeing also allow a caster to notice the presence of a portal. (A portal glows with moderate Conjuration (or Brown) when seen with detect magic.) Experienced planar travellers can sense a nearby portal naturally – a character with 10 or more ranks in Knowledge (the planes) is entitled to a Spot check to notice a portal if he passes within five feet of the portal. A portal that is simply inactive, such as a pair of standing stones, requires a Spot check (DC 10). Hidden portals such as a ring of tiny runes concealed by a layer of moss call for a much higher Spot DC (25 or more, depending on how well hidden the portal is). A tracker can notice the unusual footprints left by otherworldly creatures, especially when such trails vanish abruptly at the portal. Locating a portal by tracks alone is a very time-consuming method, but is often the only way to escape a plane without resorting to magic. Once a portal has been found, most travellers would prefer to know where it might take them before stepping through. A successful Knowledge (arcana) check (DC 25) can ascertain the portal's aura. Auras Portals are surrounded by a magical aura, similar to one surrounding a magical item. The subtleties of this aura cannot be perceived with detect magic, which merely shows the presence of Conjuration magic. When observed with a Knowledge (arcana) check (DC 25) or arcane sight, the colors in the portal’s aura can be seen. Each plane has its own unique color, as well as streaks and marks reflecting what sort of traits the plane has. A Knowledge (arcana) or Knowledge (the planes) check (DC 15) is needed to interpret these signs. 'Portal Aura Components' Activating Portals Activation methods vary, but there are a few common ways to activate a portal. 'Command Word (swift action)' Speaking the correct word activates the portal. Public portals usually have the command word inscribed on the portal; the activation words for others are closely guarded secrets. 'Touch Activated (swift action)' Touching a symbol, stone, or other icon activates the portal. 'Touch Activated (standard action)' Turning a wheel, pressing several icons in sequence, or performing some other complex action activates the portal. 'Rite Activated (full-round action or longer)' The portal requires a short ritual to be completed. Perhaps a particular prayer must be recited, a ring around the portal rotated into the correct position or a game of chess played against the portal. 'Spell Activated (standard action)' Casting a particular spell is required to activate the portal. 'Sacrifice (standard action)' The portal demands a sacrifice. Often, such portals have a coin receptacle or burning brazier nearby. The cost of the sacrifice can be anything from a few coins to a magic item, depending on the whim of the portal builder, but the common fee is 500 gp per traveller. 'Drain (standard action)' The portal feeds on ability score points, hit points, spells, or even experience. The character activating the portal can sense the drain before it happens and can pull away before it takes effect. The drain can be of any size, but the common cost is one point of temporary Constitution or Wisdom damage, 1d8 hit points, three levels of spells or 50 experience points. 'Key Word (standard action)' The portal requires a particular key or other item to activate it. 'Proxy Activated (any)' The portal uses any one of the above methods for activation, with one important difference – the person activating the portal cannot go through the portal during this activation. Summoned monsters are often used as proxy operators for such portals. When a portal is activated, there is a surge of magical energy. This surge is obvious to anyone looking with detect magic and is often strong enough to be mundanely visible, creating a shimmering doorway. Some portals allow travellers to see the destination plane, but most are opaque. Passing through a portal can be done as part of a move action – the traveller need merely walk into the portal to travel. Most portals are one-way, but two-way portals are not unknown. Items can be thrown through a portal, and spells can be cast through as normal. Most portals remain open for ten rounds (one minute), plus one round in which a traveller passes through the portal. For example, if a party of six characters open a portal, wait two rounds, then all walk through, the portal will stay open for another three rounds. Other portals keep to their own schedules, such as staying open for a set amount of time or requiring the character who opened it to concentrate for the duration of the portal’s active period. Some portals can be activated any number of times per day, but others are restricted to a set number of activations. Some of the most powerful portals can only be activated when a particular planar alignment comes to pass. Minglings Minglings are rare phenomena, where one plane bleeds into another. The first sign of a mingling is in the sky, as colors and strange clouds race through the atmosphere. Portals are small, even insignificant compared to the size of even a pocket plane. A mingling can engulf an entire plane and even a small mingling is a mile or more across. Some minglings are subtle – if the Plane of Air mingles with a section of sky, or the Water Plane with a stretch of ocean, then the environments blend into each other. The winds become stronger, the surrounding sky becomes bluer and bluer until the traveller passes through the mingling and suddenly there is no ground below. Even quite different planes can mingle in subtle ways. Often, two similar locations on two different planes will mingle. A dense forest on the Material Plane might merge with the Wood Between the Worlds, or a ruined city of fallen pillars flow into another ruin on an outer plane. In the case of such subtle minglings, use the rules for Finding a Portal above. However, instead of Spot checks, use Survival checks – a character who pays attention to the environment around him will notice tiny shifts in vegetation or terrain, as one reality blends into another. Larger minglings are much more obvious – when two worlds smash into each other, there is never enough space for subtle blendings. Planes tend to flow rather like liquids, so the denser and stronger elements of a plane go unchanged while softer places blend. If the Plane of Fire mingles with the Material Plane (a major disaster…), then rivers of flame and gouts of plasma might turn the forests into living wildfires and scorch the fields, but the rocky mountains and stone castles would be relatively untouched. Similarly, on the far side of the mingling, the denser red fires would be unchanged, but the softer yellow and blue flames might meld with material objects, resulting in trees with leaves of blue fire, or fields of yellow burning grain. Small minglings occur when two planes have a Proximity trait of 9 or higher. Larger minglings occur when the Proximity trait of two planes reaches 19 or 20. This is usually caused by potent magics, but sometimes two planes floating through the Astral Plane crash into each other and merge. The Planes Each plane is described using these rules in the Category: Planar Cosmology page. Category:Lore Category:Planar Cosmology